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SAP SuccessFactors HCM vs Sage People comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 10, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Sage People
Ranking in Cloud HCM
28th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (33rd), Talent Management (29th), HR Analytics Software (11th), Talent Acquisition (18th)
SAP SuccessFactors HCM
Ranking in Cloud HCM
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Spencer Gray - PeerSpot reviewer
Highly customizable, robust, and access to helpful online community
In my opinion, the performance management module of this system could use improvement as it falls behind compared to other specialized performance management platforms. While I understand that this system is not solely focused on performance management and is more of a generalist solution, it still lacks the capabilities and features that you can find in other specialized platforms. If we were to switch to a provider solely focused on performance management, we would have access to a wider range of features and capabilities that are not currently available in this system. Sage People offers a wide range of functions that meet most requirements. However, there is still room for improvement. One feature that I would like to see added is the ability to detect and address any failures in the custom processes or functions built within the system. I would like to see a tool that can automatically sense and identify any issues in the system. Currently, when something goes wrong, it's not always immediately obvious and requires a lot of manual troubleshooting. It would be helpful if there was an error message that clearly explained why the system is failing. This would speed up the investigation process and make it ten times faster.
ManujGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlined HR and enhanced user engagement with comprehensive insights and seamless mobile access
The reporting part is quite weak in SAP SuccessFactors HCM because the drill-down capabilities are not what a customer wants compared to what it offers. The dashboard is fine but comes with limitations, especially when combining two or three modules. Employees need to improve their usage of SAP SuccessFactors employee experience management tools, as they largely use it only for leave and attendance functions, desiring more functionality such as downloading their salary slip or seeing full-year tax calculations. The employee app lacks functionalities and needs tremendous improvement across engagement, news boards, and AI. Personalization is not prevalent in AI tools provided, which complicates integration because customers often request combining various systems into one reporting target.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution's initial setup was straightforward."
"Without a doubt, the most valuable aspect of this solution is the reports, as it offers endless possibilities for report customization. You can easily build any report you can imagine with this system."
"The solution provides the ability to trace back records, is reliable, makes life easy, and is secure."
"The reporting features are also very valuable because, on top of 300+ reports available on the system, you can also customize quite a number of reports."
"The most valuable features of Sage People are the reports that are useful for decision-making and the API that can be integrated well. Additionally, the solution can be accessed from mobile devices onto the cloud."
"Sage makes all the information accessible, like pulling a file because an employee needs something ASAP. It's all in the system. It's easy to find old reports if I need them for payroll purposes. It might take days to do some of this work by hand."
"The most valuable feature of Sage People is the integration with our payroll system."
"I guess I would say maybe that it is a more robust system."
"The employee experience management tools have had a very positive impact on employee satisfaction and well-being within our organization."
"SAP SuccessFactors HCM has positively impacted my customer's environment by ensuring they are digital; we promote using DocuSign for document signing and ensuring effective onboarding, and post-implementation we provide hyper-care and digital adoption reports after six months or a year to show how much more paperless and workflow-enabled their organization has become after SAP SuccessFactors HCM implementation."
"The feature I appreciate the most about this solution is the integration with SAP S/4HANA system."
"The SAP SuccessFactors HCM tool is a fantastic platform to work with, offering end-to-end employee lifecycle coverage."
 

Cons

"The automation in Sage People could improve. The solution is the best used for data storage but the automation could be better to have more functionality."
"The user interface is not great."
"Its stability could be better."
"Its technical support could have been better."
"The integration with our payroll system could improve. However, it is managed by another company."
"The budget module does not work. Sage People need to maybe make it more user-friendly."
"If Sage People were to become a fully cloud-based solution, it could lead to significant improvements. With the COVID pandemic highlighting the benefits of remote work, a complete shift to cloud-based functionality would be a welcome development for users."
"Right now, Sage doesn't seem to have what we are looking for when it comes to managing HR tickets. In my previous experiences with other HR software, we had to buy another solution to obtain this functionality, and it would be a great feature for Sage to consider adding. For an HR system, Sage would do very well to include it."
"The pricing of the solution is very high concerning pricing, setup cost, and licensing of this tool."
"The SAP SuccessFactors HCM has room for improvement in terms of product development nimbleness. Additionally, the speed of the application platform occasionally reduces, primarily due to data center related issues."
"The main area for improvement would be implementing a better pricing model. It is expensive, and with people discussing Workday more frequently, SAP needs to compete by becoming more free-flowing and dynamic compared to traditional SAP systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is other software on the market that can do similar functions to Sage People that could be better in price. Some solution allows you to do your payroll processes by month or by the process. Small companies could benefit by using another solution."
"I think it's reasonably priced. But in comparison to other systems, I would choose them over Sage People, regardless of their prices."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I believe we pay licensing on a yearly basis, but I can't comment on the total amount that we pay on licensing."
"The cost of Sage People varies depending on the financial resources of the organization. While it may be affordable for middle-level companies, it may be more challenging for young companies to bear the cost."
"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."
"From an SME standpoint, I wouldn't necessarily describe it as expensive. However, for the average startup, it may not be affordable since our current annual expenditure on the system, which supports approximately 210-220 users, amounts to approximately £15,000 to £18,000."
"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise6
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP SuccessFactors HCM?
The pricing of the solution is very high concerning pricing, setup cost, and licensing of this tool.
What needs improvement with SAP SuccessFactors HCM?
The area of SAP SuccessFactors HCM that has room for improvement is the user interface. We are using performance management and the performance goals module, and its analytics features need to be i...
What is your primary use case for SAP SuccessFactors HCM?
I work with SAP tools, IBM, HP, Microsoft, as we are working with SAP and Microsoft tools. We work with SAP S/4HANA, SAP BW, SAP TDS, SAP IBP, and SuccessFactors, specifically with solutions such a...
 

Also Known As

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Rocketship Education, Monitise, u-blox, SolarWinds, Mitsubishi, SmartStream, Canonical, Betfair
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Find out what your peers are saying about SAP SuccessFactors HCM vs. Sage People and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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